First Fanfic: My version of Half Blood Prince
by lavender shadows
Summary: This is my first real fanfic! Please read & review! UPDATE: CHAPTER 5 IS NOW UP! If you want to read what's next for Harry, I need reviews! So please, when you read, review as well!
1. Surprise Visit

**Chapter 1: Surprise Visit**

A large white owl flew into the open window at Number Four Privet Drive. A teenage boy had been laying in his bed, counting down the minutes to his sixteenth birthday.

Harry Potter didn't have much reason to celebrate his birthday. He was, once again, stuck at the Dursleys with no contact from his world, the wizarding world. Although he now knew why he was stuck here every summer, if anything, he had felt even more deserted than usual. From what his friends Ron and Hermione had said, Harry assumed that they were at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, the Order of the Phoenix headquarters.

Harry wasn't sure that he even wanted to join them, since being there would remind him of his godfather. Harry felt a pang of guilt when he thought of Sirius. Whatever Dumbledore said, he still couldn't help blaming himself.

Hedwig, his owl, was pecking at him affectionately, as though to comfort him. Harry then noticed the large package she was carrying. He picked it up and surveyed it closely.

"I wonder who this could be from," Harry muttered to himself as he ripped open the envelope, which had been perching precariously on the top of the package.

_Harry,  
Happy birthday! We have a surprise for you. Prepare yourself for the best._

See you soon,  
Fred and George Weasley  
Weasley's Wizard Wheezes  
Number 93 Diagon Alley

Wondering faintly what sort of surprise they could possibly mean, Harry opened the package. When the package opened, several things happened simultaneously. Many miscellaneous Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products fell out of the discarded package. Dudley, from the room next door gave a loud snore. Also, two loud cracks came from within the room.

Harry looked out of the window. He was sure that the cracks had been made by wizards apparating. He assumed that it must have been from a member of the Order of the Phoenix who had been keeping guard on him.

"There he is!"

A very familiar voice rang from the bedroom doorway. Harry turned around and saw the outline of the two Weasley twins smiling back at him.

"We were beginning to think that maybe we'd apparated at the wrong place-" began Fred.

"We haven't been here that many times..." George's voice trailed off, leaving Harry in the impression that they don't exactly enjoy being here any more than he does.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked in a mixed tone of confusion and glee.

"We reckoned that we'd give you a visit-" began Fred.

"As a birthday gift, you know-" pursued George.

"Well... Maybe more a visit for that pig-" continued Fred.

"Dudley?" Harry asked, a wry grin spreading across his face.

"Yes, him," finished George.

Fred and George exchanged highly amused looks. Harry had the feeling that whatever Fred and George were planning, he would enjoy it. Luckily for them, Fred and George were wizards of age, which meant that they could do magic whenever they please. Harry, however much he wished, was not allowed performing magic so he couldn't get back at Dudley for all those years of torment… yet!

Harry looked gleefully at Fred and George, who were examining his room carefully. All three were quite startled as Dudley gave another loud snore.

Day was breaking. Harry Potter figured that this was going to be one of his best birthdays yet.


	2. Times of Change

**Chapter 2: Times of Change**

Fred and George kept looking at each other, then themselves again, as though they were stealing themselves to say something.

"What?" Harry asked nervously. After a few minutes, this had certainly gotten annoying, but he was somewhat anxious of what somebody as extroverted as Fred and George may be afraid of saying.

Finally, Fred gave in, "Ron didn't mention whether you had received your results yet," he began.

"You know, for the OWLs," finished George, glancing sheepishly at Harry.

"Just out of curiosity, because of all those interruptions you know."

Harry pointed unhelpfully at the pile of mail lying on his bedside table. As Fred approached, he noticed a highly official scroll resting on top. "That it?" he asked.

"Yup," Harry said glumly.

As Fred picked it up, George came over to glance at it too. Harry shifted his feet uncomfortably. For some reason, he felt awkward showing the twins his results.

Fred smiled broadly at Harry, "Hey, you got an O in Defence Against the Dark Arts!"

"Lupin certainly wasn't wrong when he said that you were great," George smirked.

As Harry remembered this exam, a bright grin lit his face, "It was great performing all the jinxes and counter-jinxes right under Umbridge's nose."

"You even managed to get an A in Potions. Wow," breathed Fred. "I guess you did much better not having Snape stare down at you from his greasy nose."

Harry shrugged enenthusiastically, "Maybe. But then again, maybe I'm just rotten at Potions."

"At least you won't need to take any more classes with that git," said George.

Harry remembered what Professor McGonagall had told him during his Career Advice about potions being very useful for Aurors. Harry hoped that this stroke of luck about not needing to take any more classes with Snape wouldn't ruin his chances of becoming an Auror.

"Seven OWLs," Fred said with a slight smile, "That's not bad."

"Well-" Harry began, but George interrupted him.

"We only got three each, but we still managed."

George pointed at the pile of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products which were strewn across Harry's room.

"Yeah… What is all this stuff anyway?" Harry asked, eager to get off the subject of examinations.

"All of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' products," said George, a bright smiling spreading across his face.

"And it's all because of you." Fred winked at Harry.

"Now you mention it," began Harry hesitantly, "How's your mom doing about all this?"

Last Harry had heard, Mrs. Weasley wasn't too happy with Fred and George. She didn't seem to think that owning a joke shop was a suitable career for two of her sons. Although, she hadn't seemed too down-hearted when the members of the Order of the Phoenix picked him up from the Hogwarts Express in June.

"She's taking it alright-" started Fred.

"Better than we thought she would," interjected George.

"Yeah… She's even talking to us," continued Fred, nodding his head slightly. "We think that she might even be proud of us."

"Although she won't admit it!" George chuckled, winking at Harry.

Before Harry had the chance to ask them anything more, a barn owl fluttered in through Harry's open window with the _Daily Prophet_. Harry paid the owl five knuts and took the newspaper. He glanced at the cover quickly and was putting it down when something on the front page caught his attention.

"Look at this," muttered Harry to the twins, handing the paper over in their direction. Most of the cover pictured a lady's face, smiling up at them.

"_Amelia Bones: New Mistress of Magic._ Wow," breathed Fred.

"_In a press conference last night, ex-minister of magic Cornelius Fudge stepped down from his position. Since the events of last June, of which the details are still not completely confirmed, Cornelius Fudge has been subject to much controversy. Many witches and wizards believe that he was deliberately keeping the magical community in the dark about the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," George read, "However, we are greatly excited about the instalment of Amelia Bones as the new mistress of magic._"

George stopped reading brusquely. All three heard footsteps pound in the hallway.


	3. Happy Birthday!

**Chapter 3: Happy Birthday**

Uncle Vernon's loud footsteps groaned as he listened into the room to make sure that Harry wasn't up to something. Thankfully, Harry and the twins were keeping perfectly still and making no noise, something quite peculiar for Fred and George! Finally, as Uncle Vernon seemed to deem that Harry was asleep and not doing anything magic-related, his footsteps pounded like stomps down the stairs.

Fred and George looked at each, then at Harry. "That was a close one," whispered George, barely audible.

"Yeah, it was," agreed Harry in the same breathless tone.

For the next half hour, they listened as one after the other, the Dursleys awoke and started their daily routine. Finally, Dudley Dursley's boisterous voice booming, "What's for breakfast?" from the hallway as he slugged downstairs seemed to be a cue for Harry to start getting ready for the day.

Although most sixteen year-olds prefer to spend a few extra hours in the morning sleeping in, Dudley simply couldn't resist any chance he got to eat food. He didn't seem to need an alarm in the morning, his own body's clock was adjusted to mealtimes.

"Good morning Duddykins! Did you have a good sleep?" Aunt Petunia asked in her customary motherly voice, wrapping her own thin arms around Dudley's generous body.

Fred and George looked revolted. "The little poor Duddykins will wish that he never got up this morning," whispered Fred as George nodded vigorously.

Harry watched as matching malicious smiles spread across the twins' faces. He wondered precisely what they were planning. Then, with an audible sigh, he pulled on a pair of pants, which were far too large having once belonged to Dudley.

"You look like Ron, mate," whispered George, glancing reproachfully at the ankles quite visible below the hem of the pant.

"You should go down and eat, or do whatever you normally do," stated Fred.

"But, what about you?" asked Harry. Surely Fred and George couldn't hide away for that long. It would be only a matter of time before something happened or the Dursleys figure that something was up.

"You'll see… But we promise that it'll be quite entertaining!" exclaimed George.

Harry put his hand over his lips and glanced meaningfully at the twins.

From below, Uncle Vernon's voice rang out clearly, "What's that boy up to?"

Without another word, Harry fled down the stairs and tried to savor Aunt Petunia's scrambled eggs while imagining what Fred and George had in store for him.

After finishing his meal, Uncle Vernon wiped his lips with a napkin and said to his wife, "Delicious! Mmm-Mmm… Now, what have you planned for the day?"

As if on cue, the Weasley twins prodded down the stairs and bounded into the kitchen. The instant effect was quite a spectacle for Harry. Dudley dropped his fork and stared open-mouthed at them, a look of sudden fear striking across his plump face. Uncle Vernon became steadily more purple whilst Aunt Petunia, in comparison, was becoming paler and neared Dudley to protect him.

"Hello Muggles," began Fred waving over to the motionless Dursleys. "Are you having a nice day? We sure are!"

"Let us introduce ourselves. My name is George."

"And I'm Fred. We're friends of Harry's from Hogwarts."

"We were wondering if you bothered to wish Harry a Happy Birthday-" began George.

"We think that you probably forgot-" continued Fred.

"Because he turned 16 today, you know," pursued George.

"W-why sho-should w-we?" stammered Uncle Vernon, as always trying to remain the authority in all situations.

Fred and George took out their wands simultaneously and glanced at them interestingly. Then, George flicked his wand and a birthday cake with the lettering "Happy 16th Birthday Harry" appeared in the center of the table.

So, for the first time in Harry's life, the Dursleys sang Happy Birthday to him, not that they had much choice. The whole time, each of the Dursleys kept eying the upheld wands warily.

As Harry watched, a broad smile spreading across his face, he wondered what else was planned for the day.


	4. The Magic Word

**Chapter 4: The Magic Word**

Dudley eyed the birthday cake with an avaricious glare.

"You can have some, if you want," said Fred, looking for once directly at Harry's cousin.

Uncle Vernon got a knife and Dudley served himself a generous piece. As Dudley shoved a huge forkful into his mouth, Fred and George exchanged delighted looks. Harry looked at them imploringly, but they simply responded by looking at the kitchen clock.

"Don't eat that!" pleaded Aunt Petunia startlingly, but it was too late. Dudley's skin was bubbling.

"What's happening?" he asked shrilly. "Please, make it stop, mom. Dad, do something."

Harry watched, trying to stifle his giggles, as Dudley's skin became fully covered in boils. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon looked at each other, but neither seemed to know what to do.

Finally, George spoke, "We can make it stop."

Aunt Petunia looked frightened whilst Uncle Vernon seemed to be attempting to gather enough courage to speak.

"Make it stop! Make it stop!" exclaimed Dudley, itching vigorously.

"You just need to say the magic word," began Fred.

"Then it'll stop," finished George, a content expression resting on his face.

At this, the Dursleys stayed silent for quite few instants. Harry knew why. They had always tried to deny their connection to the magical world. Harry had always been reprimanded for mentioning "the magic word", even when he simply meant _please_. Although, in this case, he wasn't sure whether the twins meant _please_, or whether they meant an actual spell.

"What exactly do you mean?" asked Uncle Vernon, finally breaking the silence.

"I meant what I said," said Fred slowly. "If you say the magic word, it'll stop."

"But which magic word is that?" demanded Dudley, wide-eyed.

"We can't say what it is right now, because then the spell will stop," stated George. "We need to know that you are willing to follow our plan for the day, to make this Harry's best birthday ever." He then smiled affectionately at Harry.

"What are you planning to do to us? How should we know whether to trust you?" asked Aunt Petunia, her expression clearly frightened.

"Make this stop! I can't take it anymore. I've got a wrestling game this afternoon, and I can't show up looking like this," Dudley motioned. "Make it stop, _please_…"

Fred and George were staring into each other, speaking without words in the way that only twins can… Without using Occlumency, of course! Finally, George nodded contemptuously, pointed his wand towards Dudley and muttered under his breath, "_Finite Incantatem_!"

At once, Dudley's skin settled and only scratch marks remained as a reminder of the boils. He wasn't the type who was considerate enough to say thank you and seemed determined to look everywhere but at the wizards before him. He knew that he was in their power for the day, and that nothing he could say or do would change that.

The Dursleys looked at each other, hoping that another would speak instead of them. Finally, Uncle Vernon took charge and asked, "Now what?"

Harry was thinking the exact same thing. In response, Fred and George wore matching knowing smiles.

"You'll see…" breathed Fred.


	5. Wrestling Match

**Chapter 5: Wrestling Match**

"When's the wrestling match?" George asked.

Of all the things that the twins could have said, Harry never expected that. Were the twins actually going to go along with the Dursleys' previous plan?

"This afternoon at two," replied Aunt Petunia, glancing sideways at her husband.

"That'll do," smirked Fred.

Harry looked at the kitchen clock. It was already 11 o'clock. As the Dursleys cleaned up after breakfast, the wizards took a walk around Little Whinging. When they reached the corner of Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk, Harry said, "This is where the Dementors were… Last summer, I mean." Harry wanted to know details about the magical world he left behind. True, he did have more contact then in previous years, but he still wanted more.

"You don't need to worry about her anymore," stated George satisfactorily. "She's in Azkaban now."

Harry didn't want to mention that the Dementors had left the wizards' prison Azkaban and that they now followed Lord Voldemort. Harry shuddered as he thought of what this must mean. Poor Sirius, Harry thought… but he couldn't think of that anymore.

When they returned, the Dursleys were huddled around the kitchen table, apparently in deep conversation. Harry was sure that they were trying to figure out a way to avoid the twins but he was also equally positive, if former occasions were any indication, that they hadn't found a solution to their predicament.

Aunt Petunia glanced up at the kitchen clock and said, "Time to go!" She looked defiantly at the twins daring them to deny this.

"Just one little thing before we go," Fred stated, the famed grin spreading across his and his brother's face.

"We go," mimicked Uncle Vernon. "What do you mean by _we_?"

Ignoring his question, George flicked his wand and a pile of garments appeared. He then handed a t-shirt to Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. As they unfolded it, their faces dropped incredulously. Not only was the shirt a putrid shade of lime green, but on the front, the words "Happy 16th Birthday Harry" were etched.

"We're not wearing-"Aunt Petunia ended abruptly seeing Fred's upheld wand.

"We have a special one for you," George said to Dudley, pulling out a matching fluorescent green pair of boxers and robe.

Harry turned around to help stifle his laughter. The Dursleys each wore expressions of mingled horror and dread.

When they left, Harry had the impression of participating in a summer camp, with his relatives' fluorescent attire. Harry had never been to any of Dudley's wrestling matches before, since the Dursleys generally tried to avoid going to any social event with him. However, Harry figured that he wouldn't normally enjoy it anyhow!

When they arrived, numerous stares greeted the Dursleys. This suited Harry just fine and he went off to sit with Fred and George.

Harry wasn't sure whether it was his presence, the presence of the twins, or wearing that outfit but Dudley was performing outrageously badly. He was losing so badly after the third round that Harry didn't bother watching anymore. Instead, he scanned the crowd surrounding him.

Facing him, at the opposite side of the ring, a slim woman with long white hair sat beside a blond teenager. Harry poked Fred and George.

"Look," he breathed at them.

As they realized what Harry was talking about, they stood motionless, wearing disgruntled expressions.

Finally, George asked, "What's Malfoy doing here?"


End file.
